Open System Management Volume 3

About the Book

Open System Management Volume 3: The Agency's Story: Fostering Collaboration Within uses a narrative to describe how a public human services agency can employ Nelson's model to change its own culture to become more responsive to its clients and to other organizations in its environment. Using the assessment of organizational culture described in Volume 1 to determine how to change, the agency takes steps to improve its performace and model collaboration for the community it serves.

Other volumes available:
Open System Management Volume 1: Assessing the Human Services Culture
Open System Management Volume 2: Samuel's Story: Creating a Community Safety Net for Families
Open System Management Volume 4: Shifting the Organization's Culture: A Self-Assessment Guide

Or, purchase the set at a discounted price:
Open System Management Set of 4 Volumes

About the Author

Gary M. Nelson, DSW, is Associate Director for Program Development and Training Initiatives at the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A full professor in the school, he regularly teaches courses on public policy for child welfare and for aging. His wide-ranging interests include community and organizational change, organizational theory, organizational culture, learning organizations, complexity and chaos theory, child welfare, social policy or aging, rural aging, and home and community care systems. Most recently he has published Self-Governance in Communities and Families (Berrett-Koehler, 2000), which describes a theory and process for community planning and change developed for the Families for Kids initiative, funded by the W.K. Kellogg foundation. The Open System Management series was developed as part of a grant awarded by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (No. 90CT0012).

Mary Anne P. Salmon, PhD, is the Aging Research Specialist with the Center for Aging Research and Educational Services at the Jordan Institute for Families. A member of a small interdisciplinary team, she collaborates to do research, training, and technical consultation primarily on issues involving the needs of older adults in North Carolina. She conducts survey research from instrument design to analysis and report writing.